Predetermined
by Slybabyblues
Summary: My path may have been predetermined and mapped out before I uttered my first breath but that did not mean my fate was sealed. The thing is my map only had set points. A hundred different paths would lead me to him. The question is which one would I choose. Hiei/OC Mature for later lemons.
1. Chapter 1

Okay readers. All I own are my original characters. blah blah blah. You get it. Please enjoy the prologue to my new story. Do not forget to review or PM me! Let me know what you think.

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She held the light in her hands cupped as one would pick up water. This light was lime green and pure; she could tell the demon would be kind and a female. Not every soul got special attention but every now and then, she would feel an urge to reach out to the bath of growing souls and pull a particular soul out. Sometimes a century would go by before she felt the pull to reach into the vat. At times, she would gaze into her screen and follow the demon or humans her selections would grow to be. She would watch their stories, their love, and their triumph while stamping away at her amassed paperwork. She would cry with them as they experienced sorrow and heartache and laugh with them during joyful moments. Her hawk demons would swarm around her running in and out of the room with paperwork and questions and she would hardly notice them. Ozuru, the strongest and head of her hawks walked forward and eyed the soul in her hands. "What do you feel from this one?" he asked timidly. She cut him a cool glance and turned her eyes back to the lime green light. She could feel its warmth on her face. "She will not be very strong but she will be a good demon with strong loyalty. I will gift her with eyes to match her soul." Ozuru looked on with wonder as the woman before him held the soul close to her face and muttered ancient words below her breath. She pulled the soul away from her face and turned to him. "It is done. As usual I would like you to hand deliver this soul." She held out her hands to him. He picked up a horn flask at his waist and uncorked it. The soul disappeared into the flask eagerly. "Do you have any special instructions for me Lady Hatsu?" Ozuru asked as he began to flex his white wings. Lady Hatsu considered this a moment, "Make sure there is a field of green grass by this one's home." He nodded and left her office through the intricately carved hole in the ceiling.

Hatsu turned away from the vat of souls, which truly was only a window to the vast area where the souls churned. Most souls would leave on their own and travel to find a body. About 10 percent of the souls merited a delivery by her flock of hawks. Less than one-half of one percent were chosen by her and gifted with anything from abilities to physical attributes. It was not rare for her to curse an already tarnished soul with misfortune either. Just as she began to walk back to her desk she felt another pull on her to return to the vat. She walked back over and lifted the marble top and gently set it on the ground. Her hand reached in and she closed her eyes. A light glow emanated from Hatsu as she followed the pull of a soul. She felt the soul latch onto her glowing hand and she pulled it out. She mumbled a surprise as she pulled two souls out instead of one. "Twins? Well this is odd." She mumbled. One was light blue and the other was purple. "No it couldn't be." She pulled the purple soul closer to her face to examine it. It was cut in two. It had been nearly four hundred years sense she had last seen a soul divided in two. *What are the odds that I would get the urge to pick another soul in the same day and that soul would have a twin and be divided in two?* She sighed and carried the two souls to her desk. She placed them in an empty fish bowl that she kept on her desk just for holding souls. She would have to wait for Ozuru and for the divided soul to separate before she could do anything with them. She watched as the two souls swam around each other in the glass bowl.

Hatsu grabbed her remote and mentally thought about following Ozuru. She watched as he glided through the air searching with sight that only he and her flock were gifted with. None of the demons on the ground were aware of his presence as he was there only in spirit. Below bellies of demon women glowed with life energy eager to have a soul to protect. She watched as he passed over many life energy beacons and slowed to study others. Every green life energy he would pass Ozuru would slow and examine the area. He had yet to find a life energy that matched the soul near a green field as Princess Hatsu had ordered. Hatsu clicked the remote and the screen turned off.

She slouched and lay her chin on her folded arms as she watched the two souls. Another urge hit her and she lifted her head and placed her hand in the bowl to caress the purple soul. Why did this soul call out for her so much? She closed her eyes and let her spirit energy touch the purple soul. The demons would be determined, stubborn, and willful. She pulled her hand out and opened her eyes. She must see her sister. A hawk demon came into her office, his hands full of papers for her to stamp. As she ran past the young demon papers few to the ground. "Sorry! No time!" She ran out of the east wing, of the building and headed for the south wing that housed her sister. Most of the hawks in her wing were airborne as she ran through. Her whole wing had vaulted ceilings and portholes in the ceiling to accommodate her flock. Once she arrived at the south wing she slowed down. Elves stared at her and moved to let her pass. The elves were tall, thin, elegant, and beautiful. They were all light skinned and had eyes that were blue or green. Her sister employed dark elves but they worked in the field. She walked quickly through the room and pushed open her sister's office door.

Ito looked up from her desk and quickly stood when she realized it was her sister. "Hatsu!" she yelled enthusiastically as she made her way around her desk and to her older sister. "Why are you carrying a fish bowl full of souls?" Ito lifted the bowl out of her hands and set it on her own desk. "The purple one called to me Ito. The blue one is the purple's twin. Look closely Ito, the purple one is split. You know what that means." Ito reached a spirit energy laced hand into the bowl and pulled out the two souls. She looked closely at the purple one and made a sound of surprise. "Oh, how wonderful Hatsu! Soulmates. I will look forward to watching these two demon's lives!" She beamed up at her sister. "That's just it Ito. This feels different. You know the gifts I occasionally give my chosen souls. I want to ask a favor of you. Something that is in your control and not mine." Ito looked into her sister's face. Her smile disappeared and her eyes turned serious. She moved to place the souls back in the bowl but Hatsu reached out and caught her. "Please Ito, I have never asked a favor of you." Ito's eyes met Hatsu's. A silent moment passed between them and Hatsu could see she had won. "What would you have me do Hatsu?" Hatsu sighed in relief. She did not know what was coming over her. "I need you to gift the purple soul so that they find each other. I need you to gift them with many years together after they find each other. I do not know why I feel that from them but they need this Ito. If they do not find each other, something catastrophic will happen. Ito sighed. "What happened to the last soul you gifted?" she asked Hatsu. "The last soul I gifted was sent out only an hour ago with Ozuru to place." "You have already felt the pull once today?" Hatsu nodded and Ito continued, "What about the soul you gifted previous to that." Hatsu felt a content sigh pass her lips at her thought of him. The last soul she had gifted before today. "He is a famous thief in the demon world. He really sends father and Koenma in a loop. I gifted him with unparalleled beauty and deftness. He put that to his advantage." Hatsu smiled. "You don't mean to say that the great Youko Kurama is one of your special souls?" Hatsu nodded to her sister. Her smile turning into a smirk. "How exciting! I will grant you this Hatsu, if only to see how it will play out. I must warn you though. This is not the first soul I have touched. My gifts do not always go as planned. What will you do for the souls?" Hatsu considered this. She brushed her hands over the souls in her sister's hand and felt them with her spirit energy. "I gifted the soul from earlier with a particular eye color. I think I would like to gift an unusual eye color to all three of these demons. Also, the soulmates, I have something special planned for them." she smiled deviously. "Oh please tell Hatsu! It is the least you can do!" Hatsu sat in an armchair near the front of Ito's desk. "I will tell after you place your gifts." Ito rolled her eyes. "Fine" Ito brought the purple soul to the front of her face and whispered to the soul in an ancient language. Hatsu strained to hear but could only make out a few of the words. It would not matter anyways. She controlled the process of souls being brought into the world, her sister controlled them while they were in the world, and her brother controlled them when they left the world. She could not do what the other two could. "Okay it is done. Now tell me." Ito said while she slipped the two souls back into the fish bowl. Hatsu smiled a Cheshire cat grin. "I am going to make them dragon masters." Ito nearly fell over. "You are what? Are you mad Hatsu? Dragons are some of the most powerful beings in all three worlds! I doubt even father could take on a legion of them!" Adrenaline raced through Hatsu's system as she picked up the two souls. The splitting of the purple soul was almost complete.

Ito's door opened and Ozuru strolled in. His powerful torso was bare as was normal for the male white hawks. He wore white hakama pants laced at the bottom as to not become a hindrance. His tanned skin stood in stark contrast to his white wings, hair and pants. He wore a tachi from a cord at his waist that almost placed the sword horizontal on his left side. His golden eyes took in the situation and he went to stand by Hatsu as though it were his place. "I take it everything went well." she asked him quickly. He nodded in affirmation. "I want a body guard too! Juro! Come here!" The last part of Ito's childish banter was yelled loudly enough for Ozuru to wince. The two sisters were identical to each other but only a fool would not be able to tell them apart. Every mannerism was different between the two. Ozuru turned toward the still open door as the dark elf entered. He had to fight his instinct to flex into a defensive position in front of Hatsu as the aura of the dark elf invaded his senses. The only one in the room who seemed unaffected was Ito. He could sense Hatsu bristling. The warrior was clothed in dark armor that blended into gray skin so dark it was almost black. Cold violet eyes glanced over at him and dismissed him as a threat. His long white hair was tied at the nape of his neck. He wore a long sword on one side of his waist and a short sword on the other. "You called my lady" his voice was deep and dangerous. "I simply would like you to stand here. You don't mind do you Juro?" Ito asked looking up at the much taller seven-foot male. Both girls stood at exactly six feet tall so it took a tall person to dwarf them. "Not at all Lady Ito." Hatsu sighed. "Really Ito? Seriously? Why must you be so childish? Maybe you should take a toddler form like Koenma." Hatsu teased. Ito frowned at her. "Yeah right. I do not know what that idiot is thinking. Saving spirit energy or not, that form is humiliating." Ozuru cleared his throat and Hatsu looked down at the souls in her hands as though she had forgotten they were there. She brought them to her mouth and spoke hushed words in their ancient language. She was careful that the second gift did not pass onto the light blue soul but only onto the purple soul. At her last word, the soul split into two pieces. It was finally ready to be sent into the world. The blue twin soul stayed attached the male half of the purple soul. "Oh no… really Hatsu? Do you know how long it is going to take me to find a match for those twin souls? They don't even have the same shade." Ozuru complained. It could take him a year to find a match for these souls. He stepped forward and uncorked his horn flask and the twin souls flowed into the object. He grabbed a second flask and allowed the female purple halved soul to slide inside. "Any special requests?" He almost dreaded to ask. "I don't know what you are so upset about Ozuru. This is your job after all. The only thing I ask is that you put the female purple soul in a home near the soul you delivered this morning. I bet they will find each other." Ozuru let out a breath he had not known he was holding. That was a simple enough request. With a quick turn on his heel he left the room to fulfill his duty. "I hope you know what you are doing Hatsu." Hatsu looked at her sister's face, a mirror image of her own, and responded. "I hope so too Ito."

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Well I hope you all caught the subtle hints I left in there. Believe me there were plenty. Please review. It motivates me. In the next chapter, you will meet the female side of the purple soul. Yay!


	2. Chapter 2

Hello Readers! Shout out to shirohara and backoff22! They are my very first reviewers! I do this all for the reviews. The greatest feeling in the world is to get a review or message telling you that somebody looks forward to the next chapter or that they like the story! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Enough about me. Now for the story. The next 2-3 chapters will be just about our little female purple soul. Just hang tight because it won't be too long before they will run or almost run into each other.

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Crouching in a bush near the door to his home, small brown eyes watched the door anxiously. His mother had been inside screaming from labor pains sense the early morning. Perspiration clung to his young face but he didn't move to wipe it away. Instead he sat as still as a rock and watched the door. Every now and then he threw a nervous glance at his father who was pacing in the dirt only fifteen feet from the door.

When the screams finally abated his father stopped pacing and turned toward the door. Fear caught in his throat as the door opened and the village woman who had come to help with the delivery stepped out of the small hut with a bundle in her arms. He squinted, trying to get a better look at the baby as she spoke hushed words to his father.

Please don't let it be a girl. Please don't let it be a girl. He went over the chant one hundred times in his head. He hoped that his silent prayer would be heard. Surely they knew what his father had done with the last three girls his mother had birthed.

His father's features suddenly changed and as his rage broiled, fire danced over the exposed skin on his arms. The village woman backed away with fear in her eyes. Everybody knew of his father's anger. He was the village leader and as such he had been able to display his rage many times.

"I have no need for a female child. She will be nothing but a worthless woman who will eat my food, use my supplies, and then go off to benefit another family when mated. Give her to me. I will leave her in the forest to die. Maybe she will have use as a meal for a passing demon." He held out his hands to the village woman.

The woman sobbed as she held the bundle to herself. She pulled the baby close to her face and muttered a quick apology against the baby's skin. A single tear dropped onto the baby's small cheek. She held out the child; her head bowed in defeat. She knew that she had no right to challenge him and even then she had no hope of defeating him.

The young boy's breath quickened, the hot air stifling against his soaked skin. He could not just sit around idly while this baby, his sister, died. He watched as his father grabbed his sister roughly from the woman. "Go back in there and heal my mate. I intend to bed her tomorrow. I will have another son."

The woman nodded her head and rushed back into the hut. His father turned and made his way through the woods and toward the far away path that was commonly traveled by demons on their way to or from Gandara's second largest city, Hoshiti. He walked for the rest of the day and deep into the night seemingly unaware that his son was following him.

During the entire time the bundle in his arms did not cry. The haunting red eyes just stared at him intently. The baby already seemed to be so aware of her surroundings and the happenings of the world.

Finally he came to the place he was seeking. He stopped in small clearing with a stone in the center at about waist height. He set the bundle on the stone. The road was just visible through the trees. Either the child would die from exposure, hunger, or some demon would eat her. He did not care. He just wanted her far away from his home. With the female child gone his mate could conceive another child more quickly.

Small brown eyes watched as his father turned and left back toward their home. When he could no longer hear the crunching of leaves or twigs from his father's departure the boy walked into the clearing. The bundle sat on the stone motionless. He cautiously approached it, each step slower than the next. The whole time he inched toward his sister ideas of how he could save her filtered through his mind. Nothing seemed to make sense. What could he do for her? He was only ten. He had no idea what to do with a baby. All of his mother's children birthed after him had a fate similar to that of his sister. His only hope was to find someone to take her in.

When he reached the bundle he noticed that his sister was crying. Tears silently fell out of her beautiful red eyes and down the sides of her face. When he spoke her eyes locked onto his. "Its okay little sister. I will find someone to take care of you." He grabbed a corner of the blanket that swaddled her and wiped her tears. "When you leave this place you must not ever come back. Our father is a bad man and our poor mother does not dare stand up to him. There is no happiness here." The young boy turned toward the road as his ears caught the sound of footsteps approaching on the road.

"Why did you have to go and get us kicked out of the city? We were only there for two days. You just had to tell that bar wench your name to impress her. We won't be able to show our faces there for a while now." Another voice spoke up. He could see two figures approaching his section of the path.

"She wanted to know my name. I do not like to lie if I can help it. Do you know how quickly lies grow? It is not my fault that she yelled my name out in surprise. It was luck that we made it out of there as quickly as we did. I did not even get to say goodbye." The second voice whined. He could just see them clearly through the thin woods separating them. A tall silver fox demon in all white and a bat demon in a funny hat. They seemed nice enough. He liked how the second one spoke about how he did not like to lie.

"When we get back home you will have to explain to the group why we have come back empty handed. You didn't even bring Suki any spices for cooking. You know how angry she gets when we do not bring her anything from the city." The bat demon spoke. His shoulders shrugged. "I guess we can stop in the next village and just hope they have something for her."

The boy hardly listened as he tried to formulate a plan to get the passing demons to take his sister with them. They apparently had a women in their group and they were honest demons. He could do worse. Even if they just took her from here and to a different family that would be good enough. He made up his mind as they passed him.

He ran through the woods at a pace only someone who grew up in the area could. He ran to the bat demon and snatched the purse hanging from his hip. "Damn! You little imp! Come back here with my money."

The energy signature of the small boy had been so slight the two hadn't even noticed him in the woods. Kuronue left Youko standing on the road laughing at him as he raced after the little boy. He was quick to follow but slowed down as he entered a small clearing not too far off of the road. A stone stood in the center of the clearing. He saw his coin purse on the rock sitting next to a bundle of some sort. His curiosity now peaked he made his way over to the bundle. He reached out his awareness to find that save Youko and the boy, who was standing on the other side of the clearing trying to hide, they were alone.

He was surprised to find a baby next to his coin purse. The baby had beautiful unusual red eyes and a mess of black hair. It was clearly a demon baby although it would be unclear for some time what kind of demon it was. His eyes jumped to the boy who was hiding in the brush. He looked so hopeful. Kuronue realized that the boy led him to the baby in the hope that he would take the child. He had picked the right demon to bring here. If it had been Youko he would not have even spared the baby a second glance.

He thought to his group they had left at Youko's den about two days walk from here. Midori, the mate of one of the bandits had just birthed a child a year ago and if he remembered correctly the child was still at the breast. She may not have an issue with nursing this little one.

"Kuronue we do not have all day. Let the little guy keep the money. We have plenty back at the den." Youko yelled from the road.

Kuronue picked up the bundle and left his coin purse as he made his way back to the road.

Brown eyes watched as the bat demon took his sister from the stone and left his coin purse. His plan seemed to have worked but he never thought the demon would leave his coins behind.

"Kuronue is that a baby? What are we going to do with a baby? Take it back." The silver fox yelled. "Calm down Youko. I like the little one. Midori could suckle the child until its old enough and we can raise it. I have already made up my mind." Youko sighed and started walking again. "Very well Kuronue. Do you even know if it is a boy or girl?" He watched as Kuronue drew back the blanket and examined the sex of his sister.

"A girl and it looks like we need to get her some diapers." Youko fell over in surprise.

"I want no part of this Kuronue. I will not change a diaper." Youko waved his finger at his friend. Kuronue smiled to himself. He knew that he could wear down his friend given some time. "I think I will name her Akiko for her sparkling red eyes." Kuronue gushed as he rewrapped the blanked around the baby.

The boy, finally content, started the long trek through the woods and back to his home. His heart felt heavy at the loss of another sister but at least this one wasn't lost to the world.

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In Spirit World far away from Gandara and Demon World two princesses sat on a couch staring at a large screen. One of the girl's right hand warrior and protector stood behind her. Popcorn and soda pop sat on a small coffee table forgotten in front of them. As Hatsu grabbed the remote and shut off the screen Ito let out a sob.

Hatsu turned toward the girl to find her chin resting on her chest. Her brown hair fell over her face but Hatsu could still make out the tears lining her sister's face. She put her hand on her sister's back and scratched her younger sister's back in hope to comfort not only her sister, but herself. She may not have tears streaming down her face but she felt the sadness in her chest.

"I did not think it would be like this Hatsu. How do you watch their lives play out like this? They are soul mates. The other purple soul is connected to this one. He will go through similar pain. He has not even been born yet and we know that he will get torn away from his mother. What about his twin? What fate will she suffer?" A moment of silence passed between the two girls.

"Ito, they will not go through their lives without suffering grief. The world of mortals is filled with sadness and joy. Although she suffered sadness because her father did not want her she also had a brother who made sure that she lived. You could very well be the reason this boy had the nerve to do what he did. You gifted her with a long life and the gift that the soulmates would find each other. You made this happen. Then also have to realize that she is now in the capable hands of Youko Kurama, one of my special selections. There is no coincidence in this fate Ito. I may have selected his soul just to lead him to this very point. While we think that we control fate we are merely pawns in her game."

Midway through Hatsu's speech Ito had stopped sobbing. She dried her eyes and turned toward her sister and noticed the pain in her eyes. "Where is Ozuru? Does he still search for the appropriate place for the other two souls?"

Hatsu nodded. When she sent Ozuru out she had not realized how hard of a task she had sent him on. The pairing of the two souls must have been really uncommon because he had not found a single demon woman with the proper life energy dwelling in her belly for the souls. He would continue his search until he found the proper fit; even if it took him a century.

"Until he finds a match we will have to be content with following little Akiko's life." Ito stood and smiled a weak smile.

"He did pick a beautiful name for her. Come Juro, let's get back to my office." The dark elf followed his charge out of the room.

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Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Akiko 3 Years Old

"Kuronue what is the meaning of… this" Youko said as he barged into the thieve den's dinging hall. Kuronue looked up from his work and eyed the tall silver haired demon holding a giggling Akiko up by her leg. The small girl was swaying back and forth trying to get closer to his tail that was angrily flicking back and forth behind him. Youko looked as though he was having a hard time holding onto the swinging toddler. "Well, it looks to me as though she is trying to catch your tail." he said with a snicker. "I did not sign up for this." Youko growled. Akiko got free of his hold, landed on her feet and lunged at his tail.

Anyone who knew Youko knew how much time he spent maintaining his beautiful mane of hair and his tail. Therefore, when the toddler finally managed to grab the silky soft appendage and savagely bite down on it, the moment was definitely cringe worthy. Kuronue was quick to his feet as he tried to maneuver to Akiko before Youko could. He was not sure what his old friend would do in such a situation.

The rest of Youko's gang of thieves chose that moment to walk into the dining hall for lunch and happened upon the tense situation. Youko had one of Akiko's legs and Kuronue had the other. The small demon girl refused to let go of Youko's tail. Her drool pooled out of her mouth and down the length of his tail. "Let her go Kuronue. I am going to kill the little imp!" Youko yanked on the girl and shrieked when it in turn caused her to pull his tail. "I think I have an easier solution to your problem. Let her go and I will show you. Trust me Youko, she is just a child." Kuronue pleaded with the fox demon. His adrenaline was going full force. The crazed look in Youko's eyes was one that he rarely saw and was not a good sign.

The thieves all sat themselves at the tables in the dining hall and watched with curiosity. Each one of them trying their hardest not to laugh for fear of Youko. Youko growled and reluctantly let the girl go. Kuronue set her on the ground and smiled at Youko who watched him over his shoulder. Kuronue started to tickle the girl. She instantly let go of Youko's tail but not before she set herself on fire out of instinct.

Kuronue watched in horror as his hands burned but also as Youko's tail was set on fire. The thieves could not hold themselves back any longer. The roar of their collective laughter was so loud in that hall that hardly anyone could hear Youko's yell of pain. He ran toward a pitcher of water and poured its contents on his tail. Kuronue grabbed Akiko under his arm and took off out of the room with Youko hot on his heels.

As soon as he left the cave, he flew into the air and out of Youko's grasp. Youko stood on the ground looking up at the pair. Kuronue eyed him apprehensively. The tension had dropped from Youko's figure and he stood eerily calm. His eyes were cool pools of gold. "I suggest you hand the imp over now before I associate you with her foolishness. I would hate to cause two deaths today." There was no room for an argument in his tone. Kuronue surveyed the situation and had begun to go over his options when the girl under his arm spoke. He had almost forgotten she was there.

" Uncle Youko, do I get my wish now?" Youko's eyes fixed onto the small face poking out from under Kuronue's arm. "I do not understand what you mean." He watched as the girl pushed her hair behind her ears and continued. "Last year when I was little you told me the story about the fox who was so fast and cunning that nobody could ever catch him to punish him for his crimes. One day he gathered all of the people in the land and gave them a challenge. He said that if any of them could get close enough to him to bite his tail he would grant them a wish. I want my wish! I caught your tail and I want my wish!"

Youko looked back at his tail, which was half-bald from the fire and flinched as he eyed the girl's fang marks. He remembered telling her the story the winter before. She had been two. He had no idea she would remember the story. Kuronue and he would take turns putting the girl to bed and they would usually tell her a story. He could hardly be mad at her after he was the cause of his current situation. He turned toward the mouth of the cave and glared at twenty of the more brave thieves who chose to follow them outside to watch the rest of the altercation.

"Very well, Kuronue you may bring her down now. I cannot punish her seeing as I am the cause of her ill-advised undertaking." Youko watched Kuronue set the girl the ground. "What would you like for your wish?" Youko asked. Akiko ran over to a large boulder near the mouth of the cave and climbed on top of it. She motioned Youko to come closer. When he moved closer, she had him bend so she could whisper in his ear. "I want to have your last name cause I don't have one. I want you to adopt me." His eyes widened in surprise. This was clearly not what he had expected. He thought that she would ask to stay up late one night or that she would ask to come along on a raid. Which he never would have agreed to. Her big sparkling red eyes stared at him so full of hope. "Why do you not want Kuronue to adopt you?" He replied in a hushed voice. He felt honored but at the same time, she was more Kuronue's than his. She motioned once again for him to come closer so she could whisper in his ear. "Cause I'm going to mate with him some day and I will get his name then." This was the second time she had caught him by surprise. He gathered himself and turned to the small crowd.

"Kuronue, gather the whole camp. I have an announcement to make." Kuronue nodded at him and hurried into the cave entrance. Five short minutes later every soul under Youko's command was gathered in the dining hall. It was not very hard to gather them as most were already there. Youko stood at the front of the room with Kuronue on one side and Akiko on the other. The bat demon still did not know what the young girl had asked for. "I have gathered all of you to make an announcement. From this day forward Akiko will be known as Akiko Kurama, my adopted daughter. You will treat her with respect and listen to her commands. Only Kuronue and I outrank Akiko. If anyone has an issue with this, I encourage you to tell me personally." Silence permeated the hall for roughly ten seconds before it erupted in cheers. Kuronue was shocked. He stood beside Youko looking no different from before the announcement. He truly he felt a pain in his chest. The little girl he had found and saved wanted to take Youko's name and wanted to have him as her adopted father. The demons in the room had picked up Akiko above their head and were passing her around the hall. "Why you?" Kuronue asked silently. Youko turned to him and smirked.

"She wishes to make you her mate."

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Akiko 5 Years Old

"Again!" Akiko ordered the boy from her defensive position. A boy who stood a head taller than Akiko tried and failed to lift himself off the ground. "I can't Akiko." he grunted. "Yoshiro, you will never become strong if you do not get your lazy butt of the ground and attack me again." Akiko yelled coldly to her milk brother. "It is not happening Ko." the boy rolled over from his stomach to his back and shifted his eyes to her. He eyed her long straight black hair and sharp red eyes. So young and her eyes already promised bloodshed. She must have learned that look from her Uncle Youko. "Very well then. I will continue to train without you." The young girl dismissed the boy and moved away from him. She began a set of katas. Each of her moves was precise and graceful as she glided through the kicks, turns and punches in a display that astounded Yoshiro. He had seen her go through this kata and many others but he would never stop being amazed by her. "She is very dedicated. Is she not?" Yoshiro jumped in surprise and immediately groaned at the pain the involuntary reaction caused. Kuronue snickered at him. They both stared at the girl. She was going through a series of quick punches. Her breath came out of her mouth in exaggerated puffs as she followed through each punch with a breath that started at her center.

Kuronue waited patiently for Akiko to be done with her training. Not for the first time he thought about the way he was raising her. He had raised her for the past 5 years with complete knowledge that he had found her in the woods. He raised her to call him and Youko uncle. While he had been her predominate parental figure he tried taking an older brother approach to the situation. Like the majority of upper classed demon species, she was super aware of her surroundings at a young age. She learned to walk at 3 months and she began to train in martial arts at 2 years. In the Makai it was not unusual for females to train like males. He just hoped that what he was doing was right.

Akiko, done with her set, ran over to Kuronue and hugged his legs. "Uncle, would you like to train with me? I bet I can win with what I have learned sense we last fought." Kuronue looked down at her and smiled. "No little one, Youko and I are going to leave soon. If you hurry and bathe I will tuck you in and tell you a bedtime story." Akiko looked crestfallen but the look soon disappeared. "I will be in bed in ten minutes!" She yelled and rushed away toward the area used to bathe. "Um.. Kuronue sir? Can you please help me get home?" Yoshiro asked nervously. Kuronue sighed and went to help the young boy to his feet.

Ten minutes later just as promised Akiko was laying on her pallet of furs and blankets in her tucked away corner of the cave system that she shared with Youko and Kuronue. It was the most grand of the dwelling areas and consisted of a central gathering area with rich, plush pillows to sit on. The cave ceiling was high and massive stalagmites hung from the ceiling in a display that could astound anyone. Three rooms branched off from the central area. Youko on the left, Akiko in the center, and Kuronue on the right. There was no need for a cooking area because eating was taken care of in a massive hall near the mouth of the cave entrance. Kuronue entered her room to find Akiko patiently waiting for him. "I see you made good on your word to be in bed in ten minutes. I guess I have no choice but to tell you a story. What will it be? Another story of the items we have stolen or some other danger that we have managed to get ourselves out of?" Akiko seemed to consider this a moment. Her face scrunched up in concentration. "Uncle…" She seemed to hesitate for a moment before she gathered her courage. "Do you have any stories about my mother?" Kuronue could not help the look of surprise that flashed across his face. He guessed that she had to ask about her eventually. "I do not know anything about your parents. I have heard rumors in that area from some village people that I have passed on the road about a very strong fire demon that keeps his mate practically as a slave but I cannot be sure that is your family. She nodded and looked up at him with her sparkling red eyes. "Kuronue, when I get older, after I mature, I am going to become your mate and we are going to make a bunch of babies and we will not leave them around for people to find. We will care for them and love them and train them to be strong warriors." Kuronue's face softened. He knew that his little Akiko had a crush on him. He also knew nothing would ever come of it. Not to mention that it was wrong seeing as he was her parental figure but she was too young to realize that.

"I had a mate once Akiko." Kuronue said as he fingered his pendant that hung from his neck absent-mindedly. "Really? Tell me about her uncle! What happened to her?" Kuronue looked down at her with a sad smile on his face. "Her name was Ume and she was beautiful. I grew up with her in my village. I was in love with her sense I could speak her name." "What did she look like?" the anxious little girl could hardly contain herself. "She had long dark brown hair and the most beautiful blue eyes. She was a bat demon like myself. She could outpace me in the air and she loved to rub that in." An affectionate smile lit up his face but was quickly replaced with a look of devastation. "One day, shortly after we had mated a badly injured man came to our village. Ume insisted that we take him in because she was our village healer. He had been starved and beaten and his captor had blinded him. He told us a story of how he had overpowered and killed his captor and escaped just two days prior. Ume nursed him back to health and during that time, she became friends with him. She would often sit with him and tell him about how the village looked down to the last detail. She took pity on him because he would never again be able to see it for himself. The pendant I carry with me everywhere is all I have left of her. It is an heirloom passed down in her family to each eldest daughter. She always spoke of how she would pass it to our first daughter. When she died she was with child and she kept telling me that it was going to be a girl." His words became muffled as his cheeks became wet with tears. Akiko moved from under the covers to hug him. He took a moment to gather himself before he continued. "She told this man about her pendant and how much it meant to her. I did not know this at the time but this ruby is more valuable than any jewel I have come across in all of my years thieving." Akiko dropped her small arms from around him and grabbed the pendant from his hand. She looked at the stone. "It does not look like the jewels you usually bring home. It is kind of ugly." she said as she dropped it. Kuronue chuckled slightly and picked up the pendant. "It is a cabochon cut. This cut of stone is usually reserved for stones of lesser value. I believe that it was cut this way to look less expensive and therefore not attractive to thieves. If you look closely, you can see the high clarity of the stone and that there are little to no inclusions. In addition, the color is a perfect pigeon blood red. If you take the size of the stone and how well-proportioned it is all it would take is a talented gem cutter and you would have the most valuable ruby in the Makai." She resumed her hold on the pendant and pulled it closer to her face. It was hard to examine it in the dim light of the lamp weed. "I don't see it." she shook her head back and forth and handed him the pendant. "Anyways, as I was saying, Ume told him about the pendant. I was out one day with the other men training and when I returned I found our home torn apart and Ume near death. Ume told me that our visitor was well enough to leave and he could not resist the lure of stealing her necklace. She fought back and he retaliated with a lethal blow to her stomach. She had already tried to heal herself but her wound was too extensive. She placed the pendant in my hand and told me to watch after it. As I mentioned before it is all I have left of her. She and our unborn child died." The room was silent for what seemed like ages until Kuronue spoke up. "After that I wondered around trying to find this man and make him pay for what he did to my family. I searched for years and was never able to find him. I did find Youko though and I have been his loyal right hand ever sense. He does not know about my family and I do not want you to tell him. It is my story to tell. Do you understand Akiko?" Akiko nodded her head. Her eyes felt heavy as Kuronue lifted her and placed her under the covers. "Uncle Kuronue?" She mumbled, half under the daze from sleep. "Yes little one?" He stood by the door ready to make his exit. "I love you." He smiled and felt a light feeling in his chest as he replied. "I love you too little Akiko."

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Please review. I really do enjoy reading them. 3

Oh and by the way if you have any ideas for the story message me.


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